Dragon Fighter is a 1990 action-platformer developed by Natsume for the NES. Players control a magical warrior who battles through side-scrolling stages with a sword, but the game’s defining feature is the ability to transform into a flying dragon, seamlessly shifting the gameplay from a traditional platformer into a horizontal shoot ’em up.
How to play
You begin each stage on foot, fighting enemies to collect energy that fills the dragon meter at the top of the screen. Once the meter is at least halfway full, you can transform into a dragon and take to the skies, firing projectiles to clear the screen. The dragon form constantly drains energy and will revert to human form when empty. Use the arrow keys to move, with X (A button) and Z (B button) for jumping and attacking. Press Enter for Start. You can trigger the dragon transformation by holding Up and pressing the jump button.
Tips
- Save your dragon transformation for difficult platforming sections or dense enemy groups, as flying lets you bypass ground hazards completely.
- You can manually revert to human form before your meter runs out, allowing you to save energy for when you really need it.
- Because the dragon form makes you a much larger target, be prepared to maneuver carefully to dodge incoming projectiles while airborne.
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